Mother Nature
by Hanji tho
Summary: Mother Nature finally visits Tamao, and it's up to Anna to look after the younger girl


Blood.

These were definitely streaks of blood soaking her panties.

Panicked and nauseated, the confused pink-haired girl felt herself getting dizzy at the sight before her eyes, her hands trembling at the redness smearing her fingers. She was thankful that at least the pain in her abdomen was nothing more than a slight numbing, like an annoying stomach ache that refused to lighten up no matter how much she massaged her soft skin there. She wouldn't know what she would do had it been worse than the present.

Mother Nature had finally visited her for the first time in her short life. The very thought was both exhilarating and frightening.

Thankfully, she was given the time to sort things out on her own. Goodness knows what would have happened had the others in the inn seen the disaster that was her little but bloody accident. For now the Funbari Inn was quiet although its residents, both the living and the dead, were already up for their early-morning habits.

Tamao dragged herself back to her room for changing then laid back on her cozy futon. She still had a few more minutes before going downstairs to prepare breakfast; thus, the young girl drifted into a peaceful slumber.

She hadn't woke up until she felt someone gently shaking her. The unsettling and dull pain in her lower stomach only made itself known the moment she was brought back to consciousness, and the only way she could counter the pain was to her bury her face in her warm blanket. But for goodness' sake, the hand shaking her was getting persistent by the minute that it effectively forced her to wake up and groggily roll her body so she could slowly straighten her spine.

She blinked the sleep out of her still-drooping eyes, yawning as she rubbed them. She was met with a blurry image of something yellow and white, staring back at her.

"A-Anna-san?"

The girl in question nodded, sharp eyes seemingly assessing her with a preciseness that almost rivaled a quick-witted specialist.

"Are you feeling sick, Tamao?" The itako asked, quietly motioning to a tray with food next to her. "Konchi and Ponchi said you didn't wake up no matter what they tried, so I came to check up on you."

"O-Oh!"

Logical but with a touch of concern. How Anna-like of her. Somehow it gave Tamao a kindle of hope.

Making her mind up, Tamao took a deep breath, trying to start her talk with Anna about the weird morning accident she had. Anna would keep things discreet and without making her feel like she was some foolish little girl. At least, Tamao hoped she would. But more importantly, Anna would know what to do because she was like that. If Anna deemed this normal, then thank the heavens! And in the worst scenario, Anna would be the best person to call for an urgent doctor's appointment. She was, after all, quite the persistent lady. No doubt Anna would be the only girl in the world to get a doctor's appointment with just a snap of her fingers.

"I'm not sure," Tamao replied. For some reason she felt embarrassed to look up, yet Anna stayed by her side patiently, not trying to rush her to speak. "This morning I kind of had bloodstains in my underwear, and now this weird dull pain." A new wave of panic hit her, and tears threatened to fall down. "T-This is normal, right? I'm not dying, am I, Anna-san?"

There was a pause so overwhelming, it almost brought with it the waterworks that begun at the corners of her eyes. And then, a miracle. A small smile appeared on the itako's lips.

"Congratulations, Tamao. You are now a woman."

Hearing that from Anna confused her, even when she already had this kind of talk from Asakura Keiko all those years back. It made Tamao raise her head up, eyes wide. Although this conversation was a little awkward, Tamao had no one to turn to except for Anna. And thank the Great Spirits that she was right all along about consulting the itako about all this. It alleviated the confusion and the pain, to a degree.

"It's normal for girls around your age to bleed. It's a sign that you're healthy."

From how Anna made this sound, it was obvious that she herself had already had her first visit from Mother Nature. Yet, Tamao couldn't help but peer at the girl with newly found respect and awe.

"Have you also...?" Tamao couldn't help but ask. She didn't finish her question though, because Anna was quick to nod.

The older girl sighed softly.

"At first, I had to either ask the spirits around because Kino-sama suddenly made herself scarce." An amused smile graced Anna's lips. Tamao could understand. Kino-sama couldn't help much because of her blindness. "Kino-sama also insisted that I should call Yohmei-sama for tips in case Keiko-sama wasn't available."

Now that was unexpected. And worse, it made Tamao suddenly imagine a younger version of Yohmei-sama scrambling about on the phone while his future daughter-in-law talked to him about bleeding and cramping in her sacred areas. She couldn't help the snort coming out from her. Seeing that Tamao was finally relaxed, Anna loosened her rigid posture as well.

"For now, stay in bed. Eat. Rest." Anna emphasized all this by handing Tamao her breakfast. "Later, when you're feeling well enough, how about we all go out and do some shopping for you?" It was more of a statement than a question, but Anna still left a little room for her to protest if she wanted to when she gave Tamao a questioning glance. She didn't need to, though. Tamao smiled.

"Yes!" And then, quietly. "Thank you, Anna-san."


End file.
